


Five More Minutes

by queen_scribbles



Category: Pillars of Eternity
Genre: F/M
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-11-05
Updated: 2017-11-05
Packaged: 2019-01-29 23:23:13
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,318
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/12641409
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/queen_scribbles/pseuds/queen_scribbles
Summary: Pillars Prompt Fill #9: To the Rescue





	Five More Minutes

**Author's Note:**

> Pillars Prompt Fill #9: To the Rescue

 

Tavi cursed as snow dropped down the back of her boot for the fifth time in the past hour. “Why is it always the same fuckin’ boot?!” she groused under her breath as her right sock got just a little wetter. Again.

“I told you to lace your boots tighter,” Sagani said from behind her. An amused smile tugged her lips as Tavi’s scowl deepened. “C’mon, _Tav_ , I did warn you.”

“Not helping,” Tavi growled. “I was makin’ sure I didn’t cut off blood flow an’ tryin’ to account for my fuckin’ socks.”

Sagani shrugged as the wind whipped at her hair. “It was your choice, Tav, all I’m sayin’.”

Unable to come up with a better reply, Tavi just rolled her eyes and kept walking. The faster they got down the damn mountain, the faster it wouldn’t be an issue. Stalwart lay hours behind them, and if the weather didn’t get too bad, they could probably make it to the bottom by night.

As if summoned by her wishing for the opposite, the wind picked up again, throwing snow in their faces. One especially strong gust unbalanced her and sent her teetering toward a snowdrift. _Oh, shit, **seriously** -_

“Careful!” Aloth’s hand closed around her arm and he pulled her back upright.

“Thanks,” Tavi smiled breathlessly, linking her hand with his once she had her balance back. “I swear the weather has it in for me.”

“And what makes you think that?”

“Aside from tryin’ to knock me into the fuckin’ snow? It waited until I figured out an estimate on travel time to reach the bottom that was dependent on _good_ weather, and _then_ it started doin’ this shit.” She reached over and flicked chunky snowflakes out of his hair. “Guess Ondra’s pissed at me.”

Aloth chuckled. “Well, you did just survive drowning by the skin of your teeth and return the Eyeless to Abydon, thus undoing what was probably centuries worth of effort on her part.”

Tavi snorted. “Still. Tryin’ to knock me in a snowbank? That shit’s fuckin’ petty.”

Aloth opened his mouth to reply, but she shushed him, frowing at the snowy expanse to their right. “Didja hear that?”

“What?” he asked in a whisper, as she was clearly still listening for something.

“Sounded like a kid,” Tavi muttered, tightening her grip on his hand as she leaned toward the elusive sound.

“We’re hours from the nearest civilization,” Aloth frowned, expression deepening when he heard the next soft wail. “It’s probably just wind through the rocks.”

“That would make more sense...”

“You still want to go look, don’t you?” he said knowingly. When she nodded, he squeezed her hand. “I’ll come with you.”

Tavi shook her head. “Those snowdrifts are gonna be waist-high at least on us. No reason for both of us to get soaked, especially on what’s likely a wild goose chase.” She looked back at the rest of the party. “Kana! Come help me with something for a minute!”

“What do you need?” Kana asked cheerfully as he approached. 

“Listen,” Tavi instructed, waiting until she saw recognition dawn in his eyes. “I wanna go see what that is. Just in case it’s something more than wind through rocks. An’ since you’re the biggest, I figure you’ll have the easiest time walkin’ off the beaten path with me.”

“Of course,” Kana nodded gamely. “Let’s be off.”

Tavi grinned at his enthusiasm, giving Aloth a quick kiss on the cheek as she released his hand. “Be right back.”

“I’ll hold you to that,” she heard Aloth mutter as she and Kana headed off in the rough direction of the lingering sound.

>O<

They walked for almost half an hour in silence, both trying to pinpoint the cry, before Kana sighed.

“I don’t see anything but rocks and snow, Tavi,” he admitted. “And I find it hard to believe a chld’s lungs could be this strong, especially out in the cold.”

Tavi nodded reluctantly. “You’re right, and it was probably just wind through rocks like Aloth said anyway.” She huffed a breath, watched it cloud the air. “Can we just go five more minutes before we turn back? To be safe?”

“Whatever you want,” Kana said, shooting her a curious look as he picked up her tone. “May I ask why this is so important to you?”

“That’s fair,” Tavi muttered, then sighed again. “When I was, oh....  fifteen, I think, my brother got lost in the woods. He was about six. Took two days for one of the search groups my father organized to find him. They’d... talked about turning back and decided to go five more minutes. We were five minutes from never findin’ him. Five minutes from him likely dyin’ out there. If they hadn’t pushed on, hadn’t gone far enough to hear him singin’ to himself....” She shook her head as she pushed through a deep drift of snow. “So now I’m extra paranoid about checkin’ _thoroughly_.”

“I can understand that,” Kana nodded. He cocked his head, listening. “Ah! I do believe I’ve found our culprit.” He pointed off to their left, at a tall rock spine pierced with a trio of holes. When the wind blew through, their varying sizes combined to create an all-too-folklike cry. “See, just rocks.”

Tavi’s shoulders sagged slightly in relief, only to re-hunch at a blast of snowy air. “Thank Hylea. Aloth was right. I really didn’t want it to be a lost kid. We woulda had to take ‘em back to Stalwart, an’ that would be a pain.”

Kana chuckled as he turned around. “At least it’s safe to turn back now.”

She laughed. “Y’don’t hafta hint, Kana. We can go.”

The two of them started retracing the path they’d made getting where they were. An occasional gust of wind pushed Tavi sideways, and she’d have to course-correct back to the track behind Kana. Most of the time it was only a step or two’s deviation, but one particularly nasty blast shoved her a good five steps to her right in an attempt to keep her balance.

It didn’t work. Mostly because her last step crunched down on ice over air buried under three feet of snow rather than rock.

“ _Motherfuc_ -!” It came out as part yelp, part growl while she was still pitching forward.

“Tavi!” She heard Kana yell her name, the crunch of his boots through the snow, felt his fingers brush hers as she fell, but it was too late.

He head bounced off the side of the crevasse and stars flashed across her vision. She hit both sides several times on her way down, finally landing hard on one shoulder. It gave with a pop that hurt _almost_ enough to make her cry out. She probably would have anyway, if her landing didn’t also conk her head against the ground hard enough to knock her senseless.

>O<

She came to in the almost-dark of a fifteen foot deep crevasse, with no idea how long she’d been unconscious. Before she even tried sitting up, Tavi wiggled her toes inside her boots, and then her fingers. They all worked with no hesitation, except for her left hand. She sat up slowly, not putting any weight on that arm.

“Hylea’s _fuckin_ ’ tits,” she groaned, sucking in a pained breath between her teeth. Focusing on the narrow strip of light above her made her head pound like an Engwithan war drum. “Kana?!”

There was no answer from above, just her own whimper echoing back to her as her ribs protested the deep breath.

“Gods...” Breathing hard, she shifted position so she could sit leaning against the wall. She gingerly felt at her left shoulder, gritting her teeth against another whimper. “Nnngh...”

 _That’s fuckin’ dislocated,_ she confirmed mentally, using her right hand to rest her left arm across her lap. _I really hope Kana’s gone because he went to the others for help..._

The truth of the matter was, even with the high likelihood she was right, there was no way to know how long Kana had been gone _. And_ no way of marking time other than sitting there and counting the seconds, which was a thoroughly unappealing thought. So Tavi settled in to wait, inventorying her injuries to pass the time and stay awake.

>O<

Fortunately, aside from the dislocated shoulder, a couple bruised ribs, and a nice goose egg above her left ear, there didn’t seem to be anything serious. And fifteen feet of rock overhead _did_ offer a good bit of protection from the elements. Even more fortunately, she didn’t have to wait long before she heard someone calling her name, muted and distant thanks to the wind.

“Still here!” she hollered back, loudly as she dared with her ribs aching at deep breaths.

“Tavi?!” That was definitely closer, and definitely not Kana.

“I’m fine, city slicker!” Tavi called up. _Relatively speaking..._ She gritted her teeth as she stood. “Just want fuckin’ out of here!”

There was a note of amused relief in Aloth’s voice as he called back,  “Understandable. We’re working on it.”

“Don’t s’ppose we have any rope left, do we?” she suggested. _That would be too easy..._

“Unfortunately, no,” Aloth said regretfully, his silhouette visible as he leaned over the crevasse. “The last one broke after the Battery tower.”

“Don’t you dare be sorry about that, Corfiser!” Tavi hollered, indignant and not caring if it hurt her ribs. “This is fuckin’ leagues better than lettin’ anyone-” _you especially_ , her mind whispered- “plummet to their deaths. I’m fine, I swear.”

“What are you considering fine, Tavi?”

 _Dammit. He knows me too fuckin’ well._  “Oh, y’know... scrapes, bumps, bruises, dislocated shoulder...”

“ _Tavi!!_ ” He sounded offended on her behalf that she was downplaying her on injuries.

“I’ve had worse and you know it!” she pointed out.

“Don’t remind me!” Aloth called down.

A smaller silhouette appeared next to his and Sagani chipped in, “Y’know, we can just kick him down there if you’d rather have a conversation at a _normal_ volume level, Tav.”

Tavi laughed and then yelped. “Rather you got me _up_ , ‘Gani.”

“We’re working on it,” Sagani promised. “Give us five more minutes.”

“Okay.” Tavi leaned her head back against the rock and muttered to herself,  “Literal minutes, or metaphorical ones?”

Growing up, whenever she or her brothers had asked for five more minutes to play or read whatever, they almost never literally meant five minutes. They were hoping their mother would lose track of time and they would get ten or fifteen.

>O<

_“Five more minutes,” Khellin begged, eyes on paw prints that spiraled out into the woods.  
_

_“Five more minutes,” Casius pleaded, sprawled sideways in a chair with a book propped against his knees.  
_

_“Five more minutes,” Malachi said, flopped on his back with the neighbors’ cat curled up on his stomach as he hummed to himself.  
_

_“Five more minutes,” Tavi wheedled, perched precariously halfway up a tree._

_“Oh, fine,” conceded Mom with a smile, time and time again, invariably giving her children far more than they asked for._

>O< 

“Tavi? Are you alright?” There was a note of concern in Aloth’s voice and she realized how long she’d been quiet. 

“Still fine, Aloth,” she reassured, the ache in her chest fading with the memories.  “Just thinkin’.”

“You must have hit your head rather hard...” he teased.

Tavi growled even as she grinned. “I’ll hit _your_ head, city slicker.”

“I’ll let you,” he said, low enough she wasn’t sure she was supposed to hear it.

“Aloth, I swear I’m fine!” she promised. “I’m not bleedin’ to death, I don’t have any grievous  injuries, Hylea, the only reason I haven’t fixed my shoulder myself is ‘cause it’s a damn sight easier with help.”

“I’ll still feel better when we get you out of there...”

“I know, city slicker. Me, too. Shit, you think I _like_ it down here? First of all, it’s still _cold_. Second, it’s hard and un-fuckin’-comfortable, and _third_ , I’m away from you.” _And I cannot believe I fuckin’ said that out loud_...

“However will you survive?” Aloth deadpanned, most of the nerves gone from his voice.

“We’ll just have to wait and see, won’t we?” Tavi retorted. “In all seriousness, Aloth, I’m not sleepy or anything, so you don’t hafta keep talkin’ to me.”

“Maybe not for your sake...” he said with a shaky, sheepish laugh. “But perhaps I need the reminder.”

“Well, then in the interest of not distactin’ the planners, let’s just sit here. Whenever you get nervous just call my name and I promise I’ll answer.” Hylea’s tits, she hated being stuck down here. She hated not being able to _do_ anything, she hated that she couldn’t reach Aloth to squeeze his hand or give him a hug. _Of course, if you could we wouldn’t be in a situation where he was worryin’ about you, would we?_

“That... will have to do,” Aloth conceded reluctantly. And so they did for the remainder of the five minutes.

Finally Sagani popped her head back over the edge, knocking down small clumps of snow as she did, and called, “Okay, I think we worked something out. We tied the rope that broke in the Battery back together with about six different knots-”

“We still _have_ that?!” Tavi asked incredulously as she got to her feet.

“C’mon, Watcher, you know I’m a hoarder.” The teasing note was clear in Hiravias’ voice, even distorted by the wind.

“This is the first time I’ve wanted to kiss you for it, though,” she retorted.

“Pass,” he chuckled. “You can kiss Aloth instead.”

“Deal!” Tavi laughed. “Sorry, ‘Gani. You can finish now.”

“Just that I think the rope should hold your weight long enough to get you out,” Sagani concluded. “This isn’t that deep, an’ it’s a pretty straight shot.”

“Worth a try,” Tavi concurred. “Just tie a loop in the end you lower down. I only have one workin’ arm right now, so I ain’t gonna be able to climb it. You’ll hafta pull me out.”

“Got it. Just a second.” Sagani disappeared from view for a minute, then her head popped back over the edge. “Okay, ready?”

“More than,” Tavi called back. She looked away from the brightly lit crack so her eyes would be adjusted  when the rope reached her level and waited. A few seconds later she heard the quiet but distinctive smack of rope against rock and picked out the pale brown line against the dark grey rock backdrop. As promised, the end was tied in a big enough loop to fit over her head. Tavi settled it around her waist--hopefully low enough it wouldn’t bother her ribs--and gave it a tug with her good hand. “Ready!”

In response, the rope went taut and she started moving upward, using her feet to keep from hitting the walls. When she was within arm’s reach of the edge, Tavi let go of the rope and grapped rock instead. Almost immediately, a large hand closed around her wrist and Kana pulled her the rest of the way out and set her on her feet.

“Tavi!” Aloth winced when she turned to look at him, which she barely caught as her eyes adjusted to the change in light.

“What?” she frowned. He reached over and brushed his fingers just above her eyebrow. They came away sticky with mostly-dry blood. “Pretty sure that’s nothin’ serious,” she said reassuringly, reaching up to push her hair back so he could see. “You know how head wounds are. They bleed like fuckin’ crazy.”

“Clearly,” he said dryly, even as his finger found the small cut along her hairline. “This one’s covered nearly a third of your face.”

“Well, guess we better get me cleaned up,” Tavi said glibly. “So I don’t look like a nightmare.” She reached down and scooped up a handful of snow--almost losing her balance in the process--to rub against the bloody part of her face.

“Here,” Aloth offered. He wiped the mess off her face with his sleeve, despite her protests, and gave her a tentative kiss on the cheek.

“And now I know nothin’ in my face is broken,” she joked. “Can we fix my fuckin’ shoulder?”

“Actually...” Sagani hesitated briefly. “If you think you can stand it just a little longer, Keya’s been settin’ up camp in a cave we found back near the path. If you can wait ‘til we get there, we can take off some layers, which should make things easier. Also, there’s food.”

“Ooh, one of my favorite sentences. I think I can manage.”

>O<

In the end she only made it five minutes before all the stubbornness in the world couldn’t keep her going and Kana had to carry her the rest of the way.

Keya had done quite a good job setting up camp for the time she’d had. She arched an eyebrow at seeing Tavi carried in. “What have you done to yourself now, Watcher?”

“First of all, I didn’t do this to myself,” Tavi protested as Kana set her down.  “Second, it’s not as bad as it looks. Just pop my shoulder back in an’ I’ll be fuckin’ fine.”

Keya didn’t look entirely convinced, so Tavi just started trying to undo the fastening on her coat one-handed.

“Let me help,” Aloth offered quietly as the others scattered to tend their own business. His fingers deftly  separated the toggles and loops.

“Thanks,” Tavi whispered, fighting the urge to lean against him in her exhaustion, since it would make his task harder. “And since you’re bein’ nice, I won’t make a crack about finally reachin’ a point in our relationship where you’re undressin’ me.”

He smirked rather than blush, and briefly leaned his forehead against hers.  “You’re better than such low-hanging fruit, anyway.”

Tavi snorted, shrugging out of the coat with her good shoulder as the last fastener parted. “City slicker, I’m all about the fuckin’ low-hangin’ fruit. It’s like you don’t know me at al-”

He kissed her. Tavi felt her own pleased hum answered by his as she reached to cup his jaw with her good hand.

 _I take it back_ , something inside her smirked. _He knows me really fuckin’ well._ Aloth grazed her bad shoulder as he moved to copy her action, and Tavi broke the kiss with a yelp.

“Gods, Tavi, I’m sorry,” he said in consternation.

“S’alright,” she managed, resting her head against his shoulder briefly. “It’s a good reminder I should get that fixed before we make out, anyway.”

“Very true.” Aloth helped her the rst of the way out of her coat, gingerly around the dislocated joint, and then repeated the process with the heavier of the two shirts she wore. He sat next to her and held her hand while Keya popped her shoulder back into joint. Let her squeeze --encouraged it, really-- until Tavi was worried she’d break bone or something.

>O<

Once Tavi as all put back together, they sat by the fire, loosely wrapped in a shared blanket, and watched Sagani and Hiravias prepare dinner.

“I’m sorry we didn’t make all the progress you wanted today,” Aloth murmured, thumb rubbing the back of her hand.

“It’s okay,” Tavi replied, giving his hand a much gentler squeeze than she had earlier. “Caves are good for our relationship.”

He laughed quietly, nodding concession of the point. “They have been something of a good luck charm for us, haven’t they?” He turned slightly to kiss her on the temple. “And shouldn’t you be lying down? I seem to recall Keya telling you to rest.”

“This is restful,” Tavi countered, snuggling closer.

“Tavi. You know what she meant.”

“Fine. Five more minutes?” she cajoled, tilting her chin up for a kiss.

Aloth sighed, smiling slightly as he caved to both the spoken request and the unspoken. “Five more minutes.”

Neither of them were terribly surprised when that stretched to twenty. 


End file.
